Shifting Life

13. Drive

The Toyota Camry smelled of old fast food and cold dust. It had been parked on a driveway where the trash cans remained in array by the curb while all the neighbors had pulled theirs back into their lots. The house was dark. The mailbox looked like it had been stuffed for the holidays.

Jacklyn put her feet down carefully on a thick layer of crumpled up wrapping paper and empty cups. She didn't want to her new shoes ruined on some abandoned greasy leftovers if she could help it.

She glanced at the thief, trying to get used to his name.

Matt.

It was such an ordinary name. It didn't go with his whole glam thief persona. She wondered who he'd been to end up where he was when he hit her with the Ferrari. A good little middle class kid from a nice neighborhood she guessed, bored out of his skull.

Those guys were dangerous. They had the good manners, the vocabulary, the confident body language. They were reckless. They'd never tasted the long-term grind of poverty, or dead end suburbs, or soul sucking jobs you couldn't afford to quit. They'd pick risk any day. Any risk. Because they'd never met rock bottom.

That's what made guys like him catnip to your average sensible woman.

Sensible women value stability over risk. Responsibility over recklessness. Reckless men doing dangerous things is death to a stable, risk-averse, long-term dependable family-friendly life. That's the universal law of being female. The second is forbidden fruit taste better. Reckless men are forbidden fruit.

She glanced at him again, the determined jawline, knotted brow, eyes on the goal. Knowing about it didn't help. It made him more attractive, not less.

Then Jacklyn remembered she didn't belong to the group of sensible women anymore. Long-term responsible family life was out. She was on her own on a strange new path where old rules didn't apply.

There was no forbidden fruit.

Matt drove fast. He knew how to drive fast. The old Camry to roared through the sleepy neighborhood. She clung to the door handle with a death grip, determined not to tell him to slow down. She caught his glance. The quick smile before taking a corner on two wheels. Full control. That rock-solid confidence he'd make it because he had the skills.

The Venetian had built a name and a career from taking risks. If there had been road bumps they hadn't held him back for long. Then he'd crashed into her and his life came tumbling down. Jacklyn's life had crashed and burned, too. She knew where he was right now. Not believing what was happening, praying it was temporary, knowing deep within no matter how hard you try, chances were you were already screwed.

Driving, the thief was back in force, handsome, fast and reckless. But Jacklyn remembered his face when he looked after Jojo's car earlier, scared, lost, alone.

That was a guy she could care about.

They headed north. The last of rush hour traffic jammed the freeways. Matt drove along narrow streets through residential areas that soon turned more urban; big box stores, ware houses, storage rentals and fast food franchises. He didn't rely on GPS. He knew where to go, which streets were one way and which were not. Jacklyn had never been to this side of the city. She felt like a tourist. All she could tell was that they were going north, toward the Golden Gate. She wouldn't even have known that much if it wasn't for the street signs.

Jacklyn asked him to tell her everything. She knew nothing about the magic scene in San Francisco, or anywhere else. She hadn't even known her boss was a known white witch.

Matt shot her a disbelieving glance.

"I told you I'm knew to this," she said glumly. "I've just been trying to deal with having my body randomly turn inside out and into – that. I don't like it. I didn't want to know what comes with it."

He smiled, but kept his eyes on the road.

"That is fucking magnificent," he said. "I've seen a lot of things, but you took my breath away."

"I'd do anything to be – before," she said. Her eyes welled up, making the world blurry

He put his hand over hers. He let his fingers slide between hers. He gave her time grieve and to pull herself together.

"Apparently, you are the next big thing in magic," he said. "There have been rumors you were coming, psychics have seen you in their tea cups and now you're here."

He smiled.

"What does it mean?"

"According to the gossip in magic land, you have special superpowers. You got those powers from your MIA mythical rider. Whoever is in charge of you can use those powers to kick ass."

His smile was wide now. Too wide.

"They think Veronica owns me," she said.

"They do. Suddenly the white lady reigns over your superpowers. Veronica's stock is going through the roof. The Visionary is not happy."

He turned his head and shot her a dazzling smile.

"What's so funny?" she said.

"No one has seen you. Not up close. Not like me."

He took her hand and kissed her fingers, then placed her hand on his thigh with his on top, warm and protective. He was still smiling.

She waited for him to continue, but that seemed to be it.

"I don't get it," she said.

The Venetian's eyes glittered.

"Those idiots haven't seen you. They got you dead wrong."